Bundles of Joy

Specially designed by Shawna

Some say women look their best when they are expecting. It is true, because they simply radiate the joy & happiness within them which you can't help but to notice it.

3 of my jie meis are now pregnant. One in her 13 weeks, which we were told weighed around 64g (where the daddy described it as 'slightly less than the size of a pork chop'); one is in her 24 weeks & travelling to Moscow with her hubby before she gets banned from all airlines; & one with just 2 weeks to go for her delivery, with everything prepared except for her own belongings to lug to the hospital when she delivers.




Preparing size S tummy for the shoot.



Presenting the S-M-L tummy-size mummies. Won't you agree that they exudes happiness?

Times flies...2 years ago we were talking bridal studios, wedding photoshoots, booking of hotels, where to get bridal shoes, dates to receive keys to our flats, renovation costs, recommendation of contractors, cheap deals for household appliances etc. Now, we talk about number of weeks into pregnancy (Note: pregnant mummies count their foetus growth according to weeks rather than months, so if you're like me who counts by the month, just divide the numbers given to you by 4 :>), hospital tours & charges, which brand of stroller and playpen to get, number of paternity & childcare leave, breastfeeding etc.




Yummylicious spread.

Mummy Gwen: Better eat more now before I get stucked with the confinement food in 2 weeks' time.



One missing jie mei who might be busy with her cute little niece, Isabelle




The blissful papas and mamas

I suppose parenthood is a natural milestone after marriage thou it's not on the priority list for some married couples now. I can understand because there are so many things we wana do in this limited prime time. We need to build our career, we wana travel, we need to build up our financial nest, date a few years (if you're lucky enough to have met your soulmate in your school years, you probably have more time for other things), queue to get new flats (which might take years depending on availability) or do research to get resale ones (duration depends on urgency or how picky you are), preparations for wedding (which usually takes about 1 - 2 years of preparation if you're talking about booking a hotel to host your dinner), go for honeymoon, adjusting married life etc. By the time, we're probably in our late 20s or 30s.

And...we are told to have our first kid before 30 because, a woman's fertility rate will decline rapidly as well as the egg quality after age 30 & more so after age 40. For men, the quality of their sperms will go downhill after the age of 35. Sometimes even if they have ejaculated, it doesn't mean the semen contains a lot of sperms because sometimes it can be mere blank shots or it may even contain abnormal sperms, which could also contribute to the increase chances of a miscarriage, not to mention the higher risks of abnormal births. So it's not just the women's thing. There

Am sharing this info hoping to clear some misconceptions about fertility & hope we all can make informed choices & perhaps hope that some of you might reconsider to place that as one of your priorities if you belong to those who want to have children later due to some other factors. It will be a pity if by the time you decide to have, it will be an uphill task or it might not be possible because you have passed the biological time. IVF doesn't come cheap & it's not a comfortable process especially for the ladies, not to mention it's not 100% child-guaranteed.


The most common reasons or laments I've heard would be lack of time and it's expensive to raise a kid in Singapore. While I'm not really a supporter of our local education system though I'm a true blue local student throughout, we have been raised to look at efficiency, performance, results etc. Civics & Moral Education is something which I thought is a luxury lesson in schools as usually they will be replaced by other examinable subjects, especially nearing the exams period. I'm glad to belong to the era where some of the veteran teachers focused more on inculcating values.

Values affect our perceptions, how we view things & prioritise our lives, which in turn affect our behaviour. Perhaps we have focused too much on the material stuff that we got lost & confused as to what really matters.

Indeed, it is not cheap to raise a child. During the conversations I've heard from the parents on the cost of pampers, strollers, clothes, playpen, gynae checkups, the hospitals to deliver the baby, enrichment classes for babies, infant/childcare, innoculation for the child etc, I realised a lot has to do with one's expectations. I have one group wanting to give the best to their kids where they would rather save on their expenses & spend on their kids & another group which believes in using hand-me-downs & not splurge on kids unnecessarily. They feel that babies & children grow up fast & it doesn't make sense to get the best or spend a lot on items with a short usage lifespan. I belong to the latter group, for environmental reasons as well as my personal expectation. I believe there are many babies around using hand-me-down items who are still save & sound.

Of course, parents would want the best for their kids. But I still think that the best gifts you can give your child is a loving, supportive & conducive home with the inculation of the right values.
If I were to be a parent one day, I may not be the perfect parent, but I hope the child could appreciate the little things in life, share & contribute in whatever way she can.

May all mummies & their babies plus daddies be happy & healthy :)